


A Furry Brother

by Dragoncat (Dragoncat1991)



Series: WoC and related oneshots [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 09:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9541151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragoncat1991/pseuds/Dragoncat
Summary: A young laguz finds a new family after tragedy strikes. Backstory for Wings of Courage.





	

The bovine calf bounced around the meadow as his mother grazed nearby. This was this particular longhorn herd's favorite meadow, it had the sweetest tasting grass, and it was open, so it would be hard for predators to hide and the herd could spot them right away.

The cow raised her head and mooed for her calf to stop playing and come nurse. The calf started toward her, but before he could reach her, the alarm bellow of the lookout bull rang out. The herd scattered as three large felines burst out of the woods at the edge of the meadow.

A few of the adult longhorns lowered their heads and charged in an attempt to wound or confuse their attackers. Normally predators would run right into the sharp horns or turn and run the opposite direction, but these ones simply jumped over them or dodged them and kept going straight. Eventually one of the cows tripped in a gopher hole, and all three were on top of her in a flash, biting and clawing, until one of them ripped open the back of her neck. Their golden eyes met her black ones. A silent exchange was made between predator and prey. The cow was thanked for her life, her meat would sustain the felines, she was worthy. All of this in simple eye contact. She breathed her final breath, and the felines all got off of her.

One of them was slightly bulkier than the other two, gray with rounded ears and a black tail tuft. Another had pointed ears and was pure black. The smallest was gray, black stripes, and pointy eared. All three began to emit a soft shimmering glow, transforming into humans, but keeping their furry ears and tails. The smallest flicked his striped tail and frowned. "Um, Mom and Dad? I think we shouldn't have killed this one..."

A calf was cowering behind a bush that was too small to hide him. He took off running without looking back. "It will find a new mother." The female with the tufted tail said. "Every calving season, there are calves that are born dead and mothers that don't survive. The ones who lose their mothers are adopted by the ones who lose their calves."

"It's still cruel, though..."

The larger cat patted his son's shoulder. "I didn't quite understand on my first hunt either. But beorc trap these animals, fatten them up, and slaughter them all in large numbers. And on the rare occasion that they do hunt in the wild, they kill them from a distance with their weapons and they don't do kachigaru. I think we laguz are far from being cruel." Kachigaru meant "worthy" in an ancient language, and it was the term the laguz, shapeshifting people, used for the eye locking ritual with their dying prey.  

The three hoisted the cow over their shoulders, a feat that could be difficult for the non shapeshifting people known as beorc, and carried it into town. A laguz boy with shaggy red hair came running. "Sambaaaaaa!" He tackled his friend, and the two began roughhousing as the parents kept the cow from hitting the ground.

"Skrimir, what's the excitement?" Samba asked between chuckles. 

"King Sandamir has named my uncle Caineghis his successor!"

"Wow, really?" Samba got up and shook off the dust. "Awesome! Does that mean you'll be next in line?" Caineghis had no mate or offspring, so his nephew would be the closest thing to an heir if he was to be king of Gallia.

"Well...hopefully." Skrimir's ears drooped. "Apparently I still have much to learn." Laguz valued strength over family ties, so any potential king or queen had to earn the right, even if they were related to the previous ruler. "But King Sandamir said I am a lion after all, so it shouldn't be hard if I work at it."

Samba looked at his mother. "Mom, tell me again why you never tried for the throne?" His mother was a lion as well. Out of the three beast tribes, lions had the most power and were the most natural leaders. Every ruler of Gallia had been one, and it was expected to remain that way. The other two tribes, cats and tigers, could rise to nobility but it was unheard of for them to become royals. 

"It just never interested me. I've always been more interested in being a hunter. Speaking of which, we have to get this cow to the castle meat cellar. Come on, Samba. See you later, Skrimir."

In the castle, after the cow was properly butchered and stored away, Samba's parents took a seat beside the big red lion man that was Caineghis. "Hi, Kile and Senna. I suppose my nephew already told you of my achievement?"

"I think he's telling all of Zarzi. And then some." Kile chuckled. Zarzi was the capital of Gallia. 

Caineghis smiled. "He's just excited for me. How was Samba's first major hunt? Oh and by the way...be careful if you go out again tomorrow. There's been hostile beorc sniffing around the border. Well, I guess not sniffing with their weak noses...but you know."

Senna nodded sadly. "Yeah, I heard there's even been skirmishes and fatalities. On their side...but injuries on ours. King Ramon really needs to control his people."

"He can try, but it probably won't work." An elderly lion man with yellow hair and dressed in royal robes walked, or rather hobbled, up to them. They all bowed in respect. "Beorc don't have to earn royalty, as we all know. So oftentimes, commoners don't respect their royal leaders. So they'll do what they please regardless."

"Lord Sandamir, when you retire, one of the first things I'll do is try to talk to him." Caineghis said. "Maybe he can do something..."

\----

Samba lunged at the small buck, ripped open his throat, and did kachigaru. He raised his tail proudly. "I did it!"

"Excellent work!" Senna grinned. She and Kile had been staying back to see if their son could catch prey by himself. They ran up to him and purred in approval. And then, all of a sudden, a beorc man with an axe came out of the thicket. He pointed the axe at them threateningly. "You mangy sub humans have stolen some wild game!"

"Hey now..." Senna lashed her tail. "The prey in Gallia belong to the beast tribe."

"You're wrong!" The beorc spat as three others appeared behind him. "You're not in Gallia! This is Crimea!"

"Oh, it is?" Kile blinked. "Our mistake-"

"No excuses!" The axe was thrown and nearly chopped Kile's head off. The three laguz had no choice but to fight to defend themselves, the group of beorc was already attacking.

Samba's laguz instincts took over. He had never fought for his life before, only hunted, but he knew to aim for the heads and bellies of his attackers. Unfortunately, so did they. One of the beorc smacked him hard on the top of his head. The last thing he saw before he went out was his parents cornered and both with several nasty wounds.

\----

"Yes...that should do it...he should wake up shortly..."

"He's soft! Like an actual cat!"

"Woah, he is!"

"Be careful-"

Samba's eyes flickered open and he saw a beorc priest looking at him. He bristled and hissed, causing the little beorc kids to stop patting him and nearly jump out of their skin. They ran and hid behind the couple standing nearby, likely their parents. 

"Woah there!" The priest raised his hands and backed up slightly. "I can understand why you'd react that way, but no sense in scaring these kind people who saved your life!"

Samba sat up and curled his tail around his paws. He looked around, taking in the whole scene. The priest had a fancy magic staff, most likely he had used it to heal him. The kids looked like twins, one boy and one girl. They both had red hair and green eyes. Their mother's hair was the same red color, but her eyes were blue. Their father was brown haired and green eyed. His own parents were nowhere in sight...

He returned to human form, and the kids' wide eyed gaze got even more so. "You look close to our age!" The little girl said. "How old are you? We're four."

"Ten." Samba told her. "I don't know what that would be in beorc years." He then turned to the priest. "Thank you...but where are my parents?" 

Awkward silence. "I'm so sorry." The priest hung his head. "I tried to save them too, but..."

"There must be somebody back in Gallia who would take you?" The beorc father prodded. "Should we lead you to the border?"

Samba considered it. His expression was blank, but he was choking back tears. "That would be a bad idea. The border has been...dangerous lately."

"Our parents can handle a few bandits." The little boy puffed out his chest. 

"No, this is between Crimea and Gallia, I'm aware of it too." The priest said. "Lots of bloody skirmishes lately."

"Okay, I have an idea, but it might be stupid." The mother piped up. "If nobody minds...you may stay with us-"

"A furry brother!" 

"HEY!"

"Not you, him!"

At the time, none of them had any idea how accurate that would turn out to be...

**Author's Note:**

> Tiny Cerai and Leo were a blast to write. 
> 
> Kachigaru is Japanese. Got the idea from Guardians of Gahoole/Wolves of the Beyond and thought it was fitting for laguz, but it needed a different name so I wouldn't be stealing. And since FE comes from Japan originally, why not?


End file.
